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Moments: Jenny's Fate In The Darkness
I don’t usually go into a first-person-shooter looking for a story that has depth and complexity, so I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that The Darkness not only let me take control of Jackie Estacado’s demonic powers, but placed those powers in the context of an engaging narrative as well.
One place where the story of The Darkness shines is when Jackie’s girlfriend Jenny Ramano is killed by Jackie’s former boss, Paulie Franchetti.
Just before Jenny’s death, players explore the orphanage where Jackie and Jenny grew up, which had recently burnt down after a bomb was detonated inside the building. While exploring the damaged orphanage and witnessing some flashbacks from Jackie’s childhood, The Darkness suddenly wraps its tentacles around Jackie and forces him into a different room.
Inside that room is a door with a window, and on the other side of that window the player sees Jenny on her knees. Paulie holds a gun to her head while the crooked police chief Eddie Shrote spectates from the corner. When Paulie and Eddie notice that Jackie is watching, Paulie picks Jenny up and drags her over to the window.
After Paulie explains his reasoning for doing something like this, he presses Jenny’s face into the window. Jenny softly says, “Jackie, this is not your fault,” and Paulie pulls the trigger.
I think this moment resonates with me because there are so many factors at play in just a single scene. The Darkness forces Jackie to watch the murder in an attempt to break him while Paulie and Eddie get their revenge against Jackie. Jenny is brutally dragged into a part of Jackie’s life that she didn’t know existed. And Jackie is forced to watch the one thing he truly loved in life – his only hope for happiness – get taken away right in front of him.
I was staring wide-eyed at the TV, in shock over what I witnessed the first time I experienced this moment. The game does such a great job of filling out the characters that I became invested in their fate. I thought Jenny was great, and I was incredibly disheartened to see her die.
In a strange way Jenny’s death will always be one of my favorite, and least favorite, moments in gaming.
Watch the scene below, just be aware that it is violent and contains mature language.
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